Entertainment

Microsoft's "Project Pink" Mobile Project is Real and Coming Soon

When Microsoft unveiled its plans for Windows Phone 7 Series last month, one part of Microsoft's long-rumored mobile strategy was revealed. However, the second part, Project Pink — a rumored Windows Mobile/Zune mash-up with a heavy emphasis on social networking — wasn't mentioned at all.

Today Gizmodo is reporting that they have confirmation that Project Pink not only exists, but that it is coming to Verizon.

Gizmodo received some third-party marketing materials that discuss the roll-out plans for Project Pink and while the site didn't publish those materials (to keep the anonymity of its source), it has confirmed that the photos are the same renderings as the Project Pink leaks it published back in September.

So that basically means that this new phone will look feature a few different shapes and feature the same sliding-keyboard design that the Palm Pre, Motorola Droid and T-Mobile Sidekick sport.

Details concerning specific specifications, price and release date information wasn't included, but Gizmodo says that the materials indicate that a release appears to be taking place soon.

How Does This Relate to Windows Phone 7?

From what Gizmodo can tell (and certainly from what the timing indicates), these new Microsoft phones will not be running Windows Phone 7 Series, as the interfaces are very different. And given the statement from Microsoft that even newly released Windows Mobile 6.5 phones won't be able to upgrade to Windows Phone 7, it sounds like this phone will operate on an entirely different platform.

Because of the big focus on social networking in the marketing materials, it seems like the phone probably has some sort of platform — whether the apps will be compatible with other Windows Phone Classic apps or if it is an entirely different platform — we just don't know.

A Stopgap Release or Something New?

By announcing Windows Phone 7 Series last month and by confirming that only future devices will work with the software, Microsoft has put itself in a difficult position. On the one hand, they need to announce the new platform so that people know what is coming and so developers can be courted to start working on software. On the other hand, knowing about the future products (and that current Windows Mobile 6.5 devices won't be upgradeable) really makes it hard to attract new customers in the next six months or so.

This is what is known as the Osborne effect and it can be very difficult for a company to overcome. When Apple famously announced its transition to Intel processors at WWDC 2005, the announcement caught many off-guard, in part because of the fear of an Osborne effect. That ended up not happening and sales of PowerPC Macs remained consistent until the Intel Macs introduction in January 2006, but more often than not, this strategy inevitably means a slow in demand for the current product.

Project Pink might just be a stopgap release — something to sell until Windows Phone 7 launches — but it could also be indicative of a completely different platform.

It appears that these new phones are not fully-fledged smartphones in the Android/iPhone/Palm/Windows Mobile motif — but instead it's more of a "feature" phone like what Samsung, LG and Nokia offer. That is, you can get a certain selection of apps and go online and message on Twitter and Facebook, but the phone itself lacks the more sophisticated mobile OS.

If that is indeed the case, this might be an opportunity for Microsoft to attack the lower-end of the mobile market (a market that has in many ways been obliterated by smartphones), while also selling something "new" until the flagship product launches this September.

Whether or not this strategy will work will depend on pricing, phone features and how this device is targeted.

What Do You Think?

What do you think of Microsoft's apparent dual-phone platforms strategy? Do you have any interest in a lower-cost social network-centric mobile phone?

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